Storing System

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a storing system and/or a display system for shelving objects with round or tapered top, the use of these articles as well as the production of such articles.

The present invention relates to a storing system and/or a displaysystem for shelving objects with a round or tapered top.

Under the term objects with a round or tapered top in the sense of thisinvention fall any kind of objects, which don't have a plateau on top,but a peak, dome or edge. Examples for such objects are cylindrical,spherical, egg-like, pyramidal, cone-shaped or three-corneredcolumn-like objects, which don't have a plateau on top, but a peak, domeor edge. Under the term objects with a round or tapered top in the senseof this invention also fall any kind of cylindrical, spherical oregg-like objects, which are cut so that the bottom side is flat ortouches the ground at least three touchpoints.

It is clear that some geometrical forms do not have a bottom and a top(like for example a sphere) or it cannot be detected what is the bottomor the top (like an ellipsoid) or that objects have also next to theirround or tapered tops flat surfaces as well (like a cream container,where the basic geometrical form is a circular cylinder which has flatsurfaces at footprint and top surface of cylinder and an arching surfaceat the cylinder barrel; if this cylinder-like and disk-like creamcontainer is placed onto the arched surface, it has a round top, a roundbottom and flat sides). For reason of simplicity in the sense of thepresent invention we define that the bottom of the object to be storedis the point or surface on which it is put.

For example, disk-like objects, like cream containers, are not easy todisplay in a shop, when the front side (top cover) of the object shouldbe visible for a potential buyer. Other than cuboid shaped objects,which can be easily piled in a shelf without any kind of speciallydesigned piling system, disk-like objects need a rack system.

For practical reasons such objects should be stored the same way as theywill be displayed in the shop. Otherwise the staff has to reorganize theobjects which is time consuming.

Nowadays the big department stores have a lot of products to display andtherefore they are not willing to give more space than necessary to asingle product. Because of the specific shapes of the objects with roundor tapered top it is also quite difficult to pile such objects in asingle row. Such a single row and multilayer arrangement is veryunstable.

Therefore the goal of the present invention was to provide anembodiment, which allows to store and to display objects with round ortapered top in single row and multilayer arrangement. For the purpose ofthe present invention the only difference between storing and displaying(or storing system and display system) is the location where the systemis used. When it is used in a showroom usually the term “displaying” isappropriate and when the system is used in a location where no potentialcustomers have access the term “storing” is appropriate.

Furthermore that storing system should be easy to produce by usingconventional methods.

Furthermore the storing system should be producible in any material,which is desired. Such material can be plastic, wood, metal, glass,foamed polystyrenes, etc.

The invention of the present European Patent Application relates to astoring system (S) for objects with round or tapered tops, which is abody which has two indentations (I) and (I′) on opposite sides, wherein

-   -   (I) the indentations (I) and (I′) are covering the whole length        of the side and    -   (II) the indentation (I) is shaped to receive the top of the        objects with round or tapered tops and    -   (III) the indentation (I′) is shaped to receive the bottom of        the object with round or tapered top and    -   (IV) the addition of the height (h) of the indentation (I) and        the height (h′) of the indentation (I′) is at least the height        of the objects with round or tapered tops which are to be        stored.

The body according to the present invention is used for storing objectswith round or tapered tops. For that purpose the objects are filled inthe indentation (I′) in such a way that the round or tapered top isfacing upwards. Then the next body according to the present invention ispiled on top. The hollow space created by the piling of two bodiesaccording to the invention is able to receive the objects which need tobe stored and/or displayed.

The body can have any kind of shape. A very usual shape, which is also apreferred form, is cuboid. Cuboid is very common and preferred, becauseit is a good shape for putting on a shelf in a super market. A cuboidbody is also easy to produce and the filling is quiet efficient. Thebody can also have other shapes than a cuboid. The body can for examplehave a round form. For any form the body has the important criteria arethat the height of the hollow space created by the piling of two bodiesis at least the height of the objects which need to be stored. Thecombined height could be larger and the stability is still given. Butthe preferred embodiment of the present invention is that the additionof the height (h′) of the indentation (I′), which receives the bottom ofthe objects with round or tapered tops and the height (h) of the of theindentation (I), which receives the top of the object with round ortapered top, is exactly the height of the object. Such a body, which isable to create the exact space which is necessary for the storing of theobjects with round or tapered tops is preferred.

The body can also be ornamented. Such a body can have any kind of shape.

The form of the indentation (I′) can be hollowed in any form. It can befor example cylindrical, concave, rectangular, round or tapered.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to a storingsystem (S), wherein the form the indentation (I′) is shaped to receiveround or tapered shapes.

The objects which are to be stored can also have a round or taperedbottom. Such objects can be balls, cream containers, eggs, etc.

In a preferred embodiment, the indentation (I) and the indentation (I′)are identical.

Preferably, the indentation (I) as well as the indentation (I′) do notcover the whole width of the side. Therefore edges are created which arearranged lengthwise the indentation (I) and the indentation (I′). Theseedges are defined as (B), (B′), (B″) and (B″′). These edges are usefulfor a better stability of the embodiment of the present invention whenit is piled. When the embodiments are piled, these edges serve as standsfor the upper layer (next body). The dimensions of these edges can vary.The width of such an edge (lengthwise) can go from millimetres tocentimetres depending how big the objects are which need to be stored.

The longitudinal edges B, B′, B″ and B′″ are part of the sidewall of thebody according to the present invention.

Furthermore the body according to present invention can comprise wallsclosing the embodiment at one width or both widths of the indentations.These walls are defined as G, G′, G″ and G′″. The maximal amount ofthese walls is 4 (4 ends of the indentations). When one width is closedby a wall consisting of several pieces it is still defined as one wallin the sense of the present invention. G and G′ are the wall of theindentation (I), where as G″ and G′″ form the wall of the indentation(I′).

These walls prevent that the objects to be stored can drop out of thebody. These walls can be attached to the body the walls, during or afterthe production of the body. It can be made out of same material or adifferent material. It can be fixed using conventional means. The wallcan also be created during the indentation process. The walls usuallyclose the ends of the body. The walls can have the same height than theindentation. But they could also be lower than the indentations.

It is also possible to have walls which do not cover the whole width ofthe indentation, so that the wall only covers a part of the width. Thegoal of such a wall is that the objects do not drop out of the storagesystem. A further feature of such walls is that when they have asuitable thickness and when they have the same height as theindentations, then they can be used as stands for the body which ispiled onto that body. In such a case the walls can be in addition to theedges which are arranged lengthwise as well as a substitution for theseedges. The wall can have gaps or only cover a part of the widths. Theposition of the part(s) can vary.

The height of the walls can vary as well. Furthermore, it is possible toproduce bodies with different arrangement of walls, depending for whatpurpose the storage units are used.

Therefore the present invention also relates to a body as describedabove, which also comprise walls closing the embodiment at one width orboth widths of the indentations.

A body according to the present invention may also comprise edges B, B′,B′ and B′″ as well as wall units G, G′, G″ and/or G″′.

The indentations (I) and (I′) of a body according to the presentinvention may be close together, so that the embodiment has the minimalheight.

But, it also possible that there is a distance between the two oppositeindentations.

A preferred way to produce such walls is that due to the method ofproduction. In such a case the walls are preferably made out of the samematerial as the rest of the body and preferably the walls and the restof the body are one single unit. Such a method of production can be anykind of conventional methods, for example founding, molding, drilling,etc.

But the walls can also be attached to the body in a separate step ofproduction. They can be fixed by any kind of common means, such aswelding, glueing, screwing, etc. The wall can then be made out of thesame material as the body or out of a different one. Additionally, everywall can be made out of a different material.

The storage system (S) can be used for any kind of objects. The workingprinciple of the embodiment of the present invention is not dependent onthe size of objects to be stored.

The dimension of the embodiment of the present invention depends on thesize of the objects, which need to be stored and/or displayed.

It can be used to store little objects with round or tapered tops likelittle round or spherical or triangle-shaped cheeses, cream containers,sweets containers, balls or eggs.

But it could also be used to store bigger objects with round or taperedtops, such as footballs or even tires.

The dimension is also depending on how many of these objects need to bestored in a row and where it will be stored (on a counter, on a shelf,in a huge warehouse, etc). For example the length of the embodiment cango from a few centimetres up to a few meters. In case that theembodiment of the present invention is used for cream containers thelength is usually between 10 cm and 50 cm.

The indentations, wherein the objects are put, can also comprise kind ofcompartments in the size of the object which needs to be stored. Suchembodiments are shown in the FIGS. 10 and 11. The function of thesecompartments lies therein that especially the objects in the top layerhave a good stability in the sense that they do not fall forward orbackwards. The presence or the absence of these compartments does nothave an influence in the stability of the piling.

When the objects with a round or tapered top are cream containers thenthese compartments have the thickness of the cream container so whencontainer are standing in the half shell they do not fall backwards orforwards, even if only one container is left in the top layer.

Therefore a further preferred embodiment of the present inventionrelates to a storing system (S) as disclosed above, wherein theindentation (I′), comprises compartments (F) in the size of the objectwhich needs to be stored.

All preferences already described above also apply for this embodiment.

The embodiment of the invention is used in that way that the objectswith round or tapered top are filled into the indentation (I′) and thenext body is put on top of the objects using the indentation (I). Thisprocedure can be repeated many times. In that way these objects withround or tapered top can be piled up easily and safely. The stabilityresults therefrom that either the edges which are arranged lengthwiseand/or that the walls covering the width of the indentations of one bodyare put on the edges and/or walls of another body when piled up.

Such a multilayered arrangement of objects with round or tapered top insingle row is achieved by the embodiment of the present invention.

Therefore a further embodiment of the present invention relates to theuse of the storing system (S) as described above, wherein the objectswith round or tapered top are put into the indentation (I′) and afurther body is used to cover the tops of the objects with theindentation (I).

This procedure can be repeated as many times as wanted.

To achieve the best stability of the single row and multilayerarrangement, the height of hollow space between two embodiments in thefolded state must be at least as large as the object with round ortapered top, which needs to be stored.

Therefore, the height of the hollow space [(h)+(h′)] created by thepiling two bodies according to the present invention must be at leastthe height of the objects to be stored. It can be that the hollow spaceis larger than the object to be stored.

It is possible that the hollow space is created equally by theindentation (I) from one body and by the indentation (I′) of a secondbody piled on each other.

The height of hollow space could be larger, but because of economicalreason (storage room, material cost) it is useful and preferred tocreate an embodiment, which allows to create the desired exact height ofthe hollow space.

Furthermore, it is preferred that the shape of the hollow space (createdby the piling of two bodies according to the present invention) in whichthe object with the round or tapered top are put in has the same shapeas the bottom of objects with round or tapered top. Preferably thebottom unit (indentation (I′) covers 50% of the object to be stored. Theterm “50% of the object” in the sense of this application is definedthat 50% of the height of the object which needs to be stored isreceived by the indentation (I) and the other 50% are received by theindentation (I′).

The body according to present invention can be made out of variousmaterials. One single body can be made out of several materials.

Preferred are materials, which are used for conventional storage ordisplay racks, such as polymeric materials (such as polystyrenes,polyethylenes, polyproyplenes, etc), wood, glass metal, etc.

Such materials, in case they are directly used in a display of adepartment store should be a light material so that the racks can beplaced anywhere in the shelves.

The embodiment of the present invention can have any look. The materialfrom which the embodiments are made from can be transparent, translucentor opaque (non-transparent). It can have any colour or pattern.

In case that the rack is used for displaying and selling products in adepartment store the material is preferred to be transparent so that thecustomer can see the product easily and as well as the staff of the shopcan see the number of product remaining in the display.

The production of the embodiment of the present invention can be doneaccording to known processes. The preferred used process should be ableto produce thin-wall embodiments, because of economical reasons. Suchmethods can be vacuum forming (thermoforming), thin-wall injectionmoulding, drilling, founding, carving, etc.

Therefore a further embodiment of the present invention is the processof production of storing systems (S) as described above by using thevacuum forming (thermoforming), thin-wall injection moulding, drilling,founding or carving methods.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: shows a cross section of an embodiment according to the presentinvention, wherein

-   -   B, B′, B″ and B′″ are the edges (arranged longitudinal) on which        the embodiments are piled onto each other;    -   I and I′ are indentations of the embodiment; and    -   h and h′ are the height of the indentations.

FIG. 2: shows a cross section of two embodiments according to thepresent invention, which are piled on each other and which are filledwith disk-like objects,

-   -   I and I′ are indentations of the embodiment.

FIG. 2 a: shows the longitudinal section of the piled embodimentsaccording to the present invention. Stored are disk-like objects.

FIG. 3: shows a front view of an embodiment wherein a front wall servesas widthwise arranged edge. Depending on the material of the storagesystem only the objects of the top level can be seen partially,

-   -   I and I′ are indentations of the embodiment.

FIG. 4: shows a front view of an embodiment wherein a front wall servesas widthwise arranged edge and wherein no longitudinal edges arepresent. Depending on the material of the storage system only theobjects of the top level can be seen partially,

-   -   I and I′ are indentations of the embodiment.

FIG. 5: shows the top view of an embodiment according to the presentinvention.

-   -   B″ and B′″ are the edges (arranged longitudinal) of the        embodiments;    -   I′ is the indentation.

FIG. 6: shows the top view of an embodiment according to the presentinvention;

-   -   B″ and B′″ are the edges (arranged longitudinal) of the        embodiments;    -   I′ is the indentation;    -   G″ and G′″ are the edges (arranged widthwise) on which the        embodiments are piled onto each other.

FIG. 7: shows the top view of an embodiment according to the presentinvention, wherein only edges G″ and G′″ (arranged widthwise) arepresent which the embodiments are piled onto each other,

-   -   I′ is the indentation.

FIG. 8: shows a cross section an embodiment according to the presentinvention, wherein the front walls G and G″ are not covering the fullwidth of the embodiment,

-   -   I and I′ are indentations of the embodiment.

FIG. 9: shows a cross section an embodiment according to the presentinvention, wherein the front walls G and G″ are not covering the fullwidth of the embodiment,

-   -   B, B′, B″ and B′″ are the edges (arranged longitudinal) of the        embodiments;    -   I and I′ are indentations of the embodiment.

FIG. 10: shows the top view of an embodiment according to the presentinvention comprising several compartments F in the half indentation I′

-   -   G″ and G′″ are the front walls,    -   B″ and B′″ are the edges (arranged longitudinal) of the        embodiment.

FIG. 11: shows the longitudinal section of an embodiment according tothe present invention comprising several compartments F.

1. Storing system (S) for objects with round or tapered tops, which is abody which has two indentations (I) and (I′) on opposite sides, wherein(I) the indentations (I) and (I′) are covering the whole length of theside and (II) the indentation (I) is shaped to receive the top of theobjects with round or tapered tops and (III) the indentation (I′) isshaped to receive the bottom of the object with round or tapered top and(IV) the addition of the height (h) of the indentation (I) and theheight (h′) of the indentation (I′) is at least the height of theobjects with round or tapered tops which are to be stored.
 2. A storingsystem according to claim 1, wherein the body is cuboid.
 3. A storingsystem according to claim 1, wherein the indentation (I′) iscylindrical, concave, rectangular, round or tapered.
 4. A storing systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the indentation (I′) is shaped to receiveround or tapered shapes.
 5. A storing system according to claim 1wherein the indentation (I) and the indentation (I′) are identical.
 6. Astoring system according to claim 1, wherein the body compriseslongitudinal edges B, B′, B″ and B″′
 7. A storing system according toclaim 1, comprising walls G, G′, G″ and/or G″′ closing the embodiment atone width or both widths of the indentations (I) and or indentation(I′).
 8. A storing system according to claim 1, which is transparent,semi-transparent and/or non-transparent.
 9. A storing system accordingto claim 1, comprising compartments (F).
 10. A storing system accordingto claim 1, wherein the indentation (I) covers 50% of the object to bestored and 50% are received by the indentation (I′).
 11. A storingsystem according to claim 1, made out of polymeric materials (such aspolystyrenes, polyethylenes, polyproyplenes, etc), wood, glass and/ormetal.
 12. Use of the storing system according to claim 1 for objectswith round or tapered tops in a single row and multilayer arrangement.13. Process of production of storing system according to claim 1 byvacuum forming (thermoforming), thin-wall injection moulding, drilling,founding or carving methods.